The Things We Do
by halona
Summary: *New and Improved* This is a MWPP story during their fifth year. Sirius decides it's time for James to admit how he feels about Lily and get it over with. He talks to Lily's friend about it and ends up getting himself in trouble by betraying her trust. Pl
1. Sirius and Aurora POV

Disclaimer: I own nothing you recognize, but Aurora and Christine are mine.  
A/N: This is my second fic. I like it, but now I want to know what you think. Please review. Even flames are helpful.  
  
  
The Things We Do  
  
  
**Sirius**  
  
"James, if you keep staring like that, your eyes are going to fall out." I joked as I sat down next to him. He was staring at Lily across the common room, as usual. He jumped visibly and I had to fight the urge to laugh. Now he's going to deny that he was staring at anything. 3... 2... 1.   
"What? What are you talking about? I wasn't staring at anyone." Now I laughed.  
"Don't you mean 'anything'? Besides, don't try to deny it, you were staring straight at Lily. Can't say I blame you really, the girl's pretty, but this is getting a little old. You've known her for almost five years, how hard can it be to talk to her?" I asked him. It really was getting tired. The poor chap's liked her since last year, but refuses to admit it.  
"Sirius, you're getting a little old. I've told you a million times, I don't like Lily Evans." He replied just as Remus and Peter walked up.  
"Whatcha talkin' 'bout?" asked Peter through a mouthful of Pumpkin Pasty. That boy was always eating. Remus sat down next to me, weighed down by his usual armload of books.   
"I was just telling James how he should stop watching the fair Lily from afar and actually do something." James glared at me. I just grinned widely back at him.  
"You know, Sirius is right James. You should ask her to go to Hogsmeade with you next week." Remus suggested.  
"Brilliant idea! You should do it James; it'll be the perfect opportunity to finally tell Lily that you like her. And besides that, you'll finally stop staring at her constantly."   
"Yeah, you're right it would be the perfect opportunity." I couldn't believe it, he was gonna do it? "That is, if I liked Lily, which I don't. I'm going to the library, you guys are getting annoying." I sighed heavily as my hopes came crashing down and he left the common room.   
"So is he going to ask her or not?" Peter asked. I sighed again and gave him a dirty look.   
"Yes he is, he just doesn't know it yet." I told him, an idea already forming in my mind.   
I knew my comment would just confuse Peter, but I was too busy trying to decide what to do. I needed to get some information on Lily, but which of her friends should I talk to? Christine Cavan was on the quidditch team with me and James, but she was also really loyal and not likely to give up much information. Aurora Nowell was Lily's other good friend. Auri was also very loyal and sometimes downright overprotective when it came to her friends, but I had collaborated with her on pranks before. I knew she'd help me if I could convince her that it was a good idea to get Lily and James together.  
Now, where was that girl? I could see Lily across the room trying to coax Chris into doing some homework, but Auri was MIA. What day was it? Thursday. Okay, now what time? 10:00 PM. Aha! That meant she would be stargazing right now.  
As I opened the door onto the astronomy tower I pulled my cloak tighter around me. It was late November and bound to be damn cold out there. Great, I was right. I pulled the cloak even tighter and stared in amazement at Aurora. She was looking into a telescope, completely still and oblivious to my presence. And she wasn't wearing a cloak! Was the girl nuts? It was freezing up there! I was just about to comment on it when I heard her sigh loudly and look up at the sky longingly. I was right, she is nuts. She's sighing about stars.   
  
**Aurora**  
  
Sirius. Brightest star in Canus Major; located next to Orion; impossibly cute knucklehead. I sighed. Why on Earth must I be infatuated with that complete imbecile?   
"Aren't you cold?" Oh heavens, it was him! Sirius was out there with me. I turned around to face him and found that he was right behind me.  
"What?" I asked intelligently.  
"It's freezing out here, aren't you cold?" Now that I thought about it, it was a bit chilly out there. He moved towards the telescope that I had been looking through. Oh no! What if he recognizes the star that it's focused on? "So, what are you studying tonight?" He bent down to look through it, but thankfully I got there in time. I put my hand over the glass.  
"That's really none of your concern, Sirius. Was there something you wanted, or did you just come out here to annoy me?" Thankfully, he moved away from the telescope. I had to fight a sigh of relief.  
"If I wanted to annoy you, I could have waited 'til tomorrow instead of risking frostbite by coming out here. I need a favor." I simply raised my eyebrow at him to continue. He was standing pretty close now and I didn't really trust my voice. "I need to know who Lily likes." No, no, no, no, NO! Damn it all to hell, Sirius absolutely cannot like my best friend! A half-choked cry came out of my throat. Oops. "Are you okay?" He asked. I just waved a dismissing hand at him and started to pack up my things.  
"Why do you want to know?" I asked, thankfully with a strong and steady voice. My hands however were quite the opposite and I had to keep my back to him.  
"Well, I have a friend who is quite fond of the girl, but he refuses to admit it. I want to set them up so he'll stop moping around and staring at her. Really, you have no idea how annoying it's gotten. Are you in?" My hands stilled, my heartbeat slowed. It wasn't Sirius who liked her; it was one of the other boys.  
"Well that all depends on who this friend is. If he's anything like you, then I'm afraid he just won't do for my dear friend Lily. Maybe if you gave me his name, I'd be more willing to help." I told him airily. This was how we negotiated on pranks too. Give a little information, insult each other, get a little information. Sirius blanched at my comment.  
"He's a Marauder, of course. But I can't give you the name yet. Maybe you could be civil for a change and tell me if she likes one of them?"   
"Alright, yes. But that doesn't help you very much. There are four of you. Give me a name and I'll tell you if she likes him or not. It won't be good if you try and set her and your friend up and she likes some other Marauder, now would it?" He gave me a dark look and I knew I'd won.  
"If you tell her about this, I'll have you skinned alive."  
"Why, too chicken to do it yourself?" He growled and I smiled widely.  
"Just promise me you won't tell her!"  
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. So touchy Sirius." He took a threatening step forward and I matched him for it. I wasn't nervous about being near him now; we were in our usual bantering mode.  
"Aurora..."   
"Sirius..." He growled again and I laughed at him. "Okay, I promise. Now tell me his name."  
"It's James. Does she like him or not?"  
"Well... I remember her saying something about him," like every minute of every day. "She certainly has a very strong opinion of him," like he's the most wonderful boy she ever met. "I can't remember her exact words," because she's said so much about him. "Something like..." Come on Sirius, take the bait.  
"Yes?" Good puppy!  
"Well, I don't know if I should tell you. You're likely to go off and tell James everything I said." He growled again. Yes, just like a temperamental puppy.  
"I won't say a word to him about it. I promise. Now tell me!"  
"The girl's crazy about him. Won't stop talking about him. I had to gag her to shut her up before." He let out a loud whoop and I smacked him. He gave me a wounded look.  
"What was that for?"   
"You're an idiot, that's why! Have you forgotten that we're not allowed to be up here? Now shut up and help me with my things. I'll bet you anything that someone heard you and they'll be up here to check it out." I pushed my bag into his arms and went for the door. We were halfway down the staircase when I realized that I'd left my notebook on top of the tower.  
"I'll get it. Take your bag. I'll meet you back at the common room." I just nodded and hurried off. Sirius knew how to stay out of trouble. If he got caught, he'd talk his way out of it.   
  
**Sirius**  
  
Notebook, notebook, where was the damn notebook? Ah, next to the telescope. The telescope that Aurora wouldn't let me look in before. I could risk a few seconds. I looked into the glass and waited as a very familiar star came into focus. My star! Why on Earth would Aurora be sighing over my star? Unless... Well, this was an interesting turn of events.  
"Mr. Black, what are you doing up here at this time of night?" This night just kept getting better and better. I turned around to face Professor McGonagall. She was new, but we had all learned that she wasn't one to out up with rule breaking.  
"Well, Professor, I just wanted to do a little stargazing, but you're right, it is awfully late." I gave a big yawn to show I was tired. "I think I'll just be getting to bed now. Goodnight Professor." I started towards the door, but felt her hand clamp down on my shoulder. The woman's grip was like a vise.  
"Not so fast Black."  
I entered the common room to find it empty except for Aurora. The fire was all but extinguished and she was asleep in front of it, curled up in an armchair. Actually, she looked pretty cute when she slept. Ugh! Thoughts like that and I'd turn into James. So she was pretty, big deal. So were a lot of other girls in this school. So she liked me, big deal. So did a lot of other girls in this school. I set the notebook down next to her bag. And none of the other girls made me lose twenty points and get a detention. I shook my head in disgust. The things I do for friends.  
  
**Aurora**  
  
"You were out later than usual last night Auri. I didn't even hear you come upstairs." Chris commented as we got ready for school.  
"Yeah, well that's because I fell asleep in the common room waiting for Sirius."   
"Why were you waiting for him in the common room?" asked Lily. Hmm, what to tell them. I decided to tell them everything that happened except what he had wanted to talk to me about. I had promised after all.  
"Are you sure it wasn't anything about asking you to Hogsmeade next week?" Christine asked for the tenth time as we entered the Great Hall.  
"Chris, you're my friend, but if you don't shut up, I'll make a few well-placed comments around the wolf." I gave her a warning look and she paled considerably. The girl was hopelessly in like with Remus Lupin, but forbade any talk about it. Sirius was sitting with James, Remus and Peter. I decided I'd go thank him for getting my notebook.  
"Hey Sirius, I wanted to thank you for last night. You didn't get caught after I left did you? It took you an awful long time to get back to the common room. I tried to stay awake, but it was pretty late."   
"Actually, I did get caught, McGonagall didn't buy that I was just stargazing. But it's okay; it was my fault anyway. Twenty points and a detention; really, I've had worse before."  
"Okay, well, thank you and I'm sorry about getting you in trouble." I felt awful as I went to sit with Chris and Lily.  
  
  
  
  
**Sirius**  
  
I looked around at my friends' faces. What was wrong with them? All she was doing was thanking me for returning a notebook! Then I realized the words she had used. Oh jeez.   
"Get your minds out of the gutter boys. All I did was get a notebook for her off the Astronomy Tower." James gave me a grin.  
"Yeah, sure Padfoot." I narrowed my eyes at him. The whole reason I went up there last night was to help him out.  
"Aren't you behind on your Lily-watching? You've lost at least twenty seconds." I sneered at him. Loss of sleep was definitely not good for my mood. He just glared at me and went back to his breakfast. Remus beside me was shaking with silent laughter and Peter was clueless as usual.   
I went back to thinking about how to get James and Lily together. I couldn't just tell him. Aurora had made me promise not to. And bothering him about it didn't work obviously. Just telling him what she said would be so easy and it's not like Auri would have to know. I'll just tell him. I really hope she doesn't find out, she'll never forgive me. Oh, what do I care? She's just a silly girl. She'll get over it.  
"James, I need to tell you something." I told him quietly. We were in the library, after dinner.   
"What?"  
"It's about Lily."   
"What is it?" he asked eagerly. "I mean, why would that concern me?" I just rolled my eyes at him and continued.  
"I went to talk to Aurora last night when she was stargazing. I told her that one of my friends liked Lily and I wanted to know who she liked. It took a while, but she eventually said that Lily was constantly talking about you and that she really liked you. She made me promise not to say anything to you, but what she doesn't know won't hurt her right? Now, go and ask Lily to Hogsmeade." I started to push him toward the door, but he whirled around on me with an angry face.  
"Sirius, how do you know she hasn't told Lily? I know Aurora, and she wouldn't have given away information without gaining some too. She could have already told Lily."   
"Look, Aurora's honorable. I made her promise not to tell, so she won't. Unless she finds out that I've broken my promise. So you can't say a word. Now go ask Lily like a good boy and when you come back, I'll tell you what I found out about Aurora after she left the astronomy tower and you can help me decide what to do." I pushed him off again and this time he left. I turned around when I heard a book drop behind me. Aurora walked out from behind a bookcase. Her face was a mask of hurt, betrayal, and horror. Ah, shit!  
  
**Aurora**  
  
I must have jumped at least three feet in the air when the book fell from my hands. I came out from behind the bookcase to face him. I mustn't have looked very happy because he paled visibly. I couldn't believe he went and told James after he had promised not to. And what was that about finding something out about me? I'd bet anything that he looked into the telescope. "...decide what to do," he'd told James.  
"You heard everything, didn't you?" I just nodded. I couldn't speak; my throat had closed up from being so angry. No, I wasn't angry, I was hurt. How could he break his promise like that? "I'm so sorry Aurora. Really, I'm so, so sorry."   
"'What she doesn't know won't hurt her'? That didn't sound very remorseful Sirius." I knew it. My voice was shaking. Please don't let me cry in front of him!   
"I am sorry, but I didn't see any other way. You have to believe me." I didn't. I didn't want to see him grovel either though.  
"What did you find out about me Sirius?" I had to know if he knew. He gulped and looked at his feet.  
"Well, when I went back to get your notebook, I looked into the telescope. I saw my star." I nodded at him.  
"And what conclusions did you draw from that?" I sounded like I was tutoring him or something.  
"Well, it probably doesn't matter anymore because you probably don't feel like that anymore after what I've done."  
"What do you think I felt though?"   
"Well, when I first went out onto the tower, I heard you sigh as if you wanted something." He paused and blushed. I couldn't believe my eyes. I didn't even know Sirius knew how to blush. "I figured you probably liked me or something. But like I said, you probably don't anymore." He looked up at me to gauge my reaction. I don't think I had one. My thoughts were pretty blank.  
"You're right Sirius, I did like you. But I'm not sure if I still do. You're certainly not someone I want as a friend right now."  
  
**Sirius**  
  
She walked away, not in the direction of the doors, but deeper into the library. Probably to bury herself in reading. Aurora always read when she was upset. After she'd gotten her first detention, she'd stayed in the library for three days straight. Didn't come out to eat even. Just when she had to use the bathroom or go to class and when the librarian kicked her out at night. That had been my fault too. I'd charmed her hair to be bright green and she had gotten in trouble. I'd made up for that, hopefully I could make up for this too. I left the library to go look for Remus. James would be too busy with Lily I bet. Even that thought brought me no pleasure.  



	2. Remus and Christine POV

Disclaimer: I own nothing that you recognize, but Aurora and Christine are mine.  
A/N: Once again, please, I beg of you, review!  
  
  
The Things We Do  
  
  
**Remus**  
  
I watched as James came in through the portrait hole and went straight to Lily. He pulled her away from Christine and seemed to ask her something. She got really happy, and then he did too. She went back to Chris and started talking really fast, ending her speech in giggles. James went straight up to the dorms in a kind of daze. He must have asked Lily to Hogsmeade!   
I was just about to pass out from shock when Sirius came in. He walked over to me and Peter and sat down, not saying a word. I could tell he was angry at something, but I didn't know what.  
"I think Prongs just asked Lily out." The only response he gave was a grunt and kept glaring at the table. "Yeah, and then he threw your broom into the fire."   
"WHAT?" He looked thoroughly alarmed.  
"Oh good, a response. What's up Padfoot?"   
"Aurora's mad at me." I raised an eyebrow at him.  
"Is this news to you? She's always mad at you."  
"This time it's different. I promised that I wouldn't tell James that Lily liked him, but I did and she heard me. She also heard that I knew that she liked me. After I shoved James off to go ask Lily, she came out from behind a bookcase and told me she wasn't sure if she liked me anymore and that she definitely didn't want to be my friend right now." I blew out a low whistle. Sirius had certainly gotten himself in deep this time.  
"Sirius, do you like her?" I think that question startled him.  
"What? That's beside the point. She's my friend Remus, well she was, and she's mad at me. She's holed herself up in the library again. What do I do?" Dodging the question, as usual.  
"Sirius, I can't help you 'til you answer my question." He looked back to his hands.  
"I don't know, I guess. She's pretty, and definitely different from other girls. What do I do Moony?" Not for the first time, I wished he wasn't so impatient.   
"I don't think I can answer that Padfoot. You need to get her out of the library first. And for that, you need their help." I looked pointedly at Chris and Lily sitting across the room. He sighed and nodded.  
  
**Christine**  
  
"Hello ladies." I looked up to see Sirius smiling charmingly, if not a little weakly at Lily and me.   
"Hey Sirius, what's up?" He sat down across from us and looked at us seriously.  
"I'm afraid Aurora's hidden herself in the library and it's all my fault. I need your help to get her out." I glared at him.  
"All your fault? What did you do to her Sirius?"  
"I broke a promise to her and she overheard me as I did. And, I'd just found out that she liked me. She just told me that she's not sure if she likes me anymore and she doesn't want to be my friend right now either. I like her now, though." Whoa, what a confession! Lily and I exchanged a quick look.  
"Why do you like her Sirius?" Lily asked him.  
"And if you say 'cause she's pretty, it's not going to help you much." I added. He nodded and thought for a moment. Finally, he gave a small smile.  
"Because she can beat me in an argument and because she doesn't back down from anything." Well, that was an unexpected answer. I was expecting something lame like, "she's nice and she's smart." I could tell Lily was surprised too.  
"We can get her out of the library." Lily told him. I pinned him with a hard look.  
"But the rest is up to you. If you send her back into that damned library, you're bringing her out!" He nodded eagerly.  
"Do you think she'll forgive me?" I didn't know, but Lily answered him.  
"Probably. She forgives everyone eventually. It's just whether or not she forgets." I didn't want to say it, but Auri had a great memory.  
Lily and I entered the library and exchanged worried looks.  
"Well, should we split up? I don't think we'll find her if we stick together." Lily nodded.  
"Yeah, just send up sparks if you find her." She moved off to the left and was quickly hidden by bookcases.   
I looked into the brightly-lit library and set off to the right. I understood why Auri always wanted to hide in here. Apart from loving to read, it always took forever to find her. I glanced down every aisle as I passed it, hoping she'd be there. I really didn't want to spend the evening surrounded by books. It just reminded me of the homework I didn't do. Okay, let's be smart about this. What does she like to read? Astronomy text books, muggle fantasy, and history books. Okay, now where are those sections? The fiction should be just ahead. That'd be really helpful if the section wasn't thirty rows long.   
Thankfully, she was there. I couldn't believe my luck. I sent up sparks for Lily and waited for her to join me. When she got there, we entered Aurora's row cautiously. She was sitting on the floor, leaning up against a bookcase and reading. She was turning the pages every twenty seconds or so. Ugh! Speed-reading was not a good sign. There was a stack of books next to her and she was already halfway through her current book. As we got closer, I could see she'd been crying. This wasn't going to be easy.  
"Auri, are you okay?" Lily tried. No response.  
"Auri?" I ventured.  
"I'm fine, I just felt like reading." Yeah, right.  
"He talked to us about what happened." Lily said. I was glad she didn't say his name. I got the impression it wouldn't help matters much.  
"Oh really, and what did Sirius have to say? Did he go on and on about how sorry he was?" She was angry, but at least she stopped reading for a moment. Of course, she didn't close the book, but it was an improvement. Lily and I exchanged a look again.  
"No, but he did say something about liking you." I said casually. She looked up sharply.  
"What?" Her voice was filled with shock, not anger. That was a good sign to continue.  
"Yeah, and he gave good reasons too. Not just the usual 'she's nice, she's pretty' kinda thing." I mimicked Sirius' voice hoping to make her smile. She almost wanted to, I could tell.  
"What were his reason's?" Now she closed the book. I fought back a sigh of relief.  
"Well, he said he liked you because you could beat him in an argument, and because you never backed down from anything." Lily said conspiratorially. Oh, she was good at this. I saw a spark of interest in Aurora's eyes light at those words. Yep, she still liked him.  
"Really?" Lily and I nodded in unison. Now she smiled.  
"That's so sweet!" Then her face darkened. Crap. "That doesn't take back what he did though, he broke a promise to me. How can I ever trust him after this?" Double crap, she was reaching for the book again. I snatched it up before she could pick it up.  
"I'm sure that the only reason he broke that promise is because he saw no other way around it. Please don't be so hard on him Auri, you've broken promises before too." Lily told her and Aurora shrank back visibly.  
"I said I was sorry about that. And I thought I'd made up for it." She said in a small voice.  
"And you have! Lily was just trying to remind you that if you can be forgiven, the least you can do is return the favor. Sirius likes you, forgive him for this and be friends again." I persuaded her.  
"I can't talk to him yet." She said.  
"Okay, so don't. But at least come back to the Tower. You can talk to him later." Lily negotiated. Aurora just nodded and got up, leaving the books where they were.  
  
**Remus**  
I kicked Sirius under the table when I saw Aurora enter the common room. He glared at me for a second, then followed my gaze. He almost got up, but I kicked him again.  
"What was that one for!" He demanded.  
"Don't go over there yet. Talk to her tomorrow." I told him.  
"Why?" I shook my head at him.  
"'Cause she's probably still a little mad at you." I watched as Lily and Christine led her up to the Girls' Dorms. "See, they took her straight upstairs. Just wait 'til tomorrow."   
"Okay, fine." He agreed.  
"Oh, and Sirius, whatever you do, don't say the words 'I promise'. Even if she asks you to promise something, don't do it. Tell her you want to earn her trust back before you promise anything else."   
"And how do you know so much about this topic?" Sirius asked with a grin. I shrugged.  
"It's a gift." Sirius just laughed.  
  
**Christine**  
  
"No! You can't make me! I refuse to do it!" Aurora shouted at me the next morning. I sighed and with a yank, her covers were on the floor.  
"You're named after the goddess of the dawn, you'd think I wouldn't have to curse you out of bed every morning! Get up Aurora!" I yelled back. Lily just kept getting ready for school, chuckling to herself.   
"Not every morning. Today's just special." Auri whined back.  
"You're right, not every morning, every other morning. And it's not your birthday for another week. Get up or I make you dance down to the common room in your pajamas." Finally, she rolled out of bed and gave me a dirty look. I just shrugged and went to get dressed. "Sirius is going to try to talk to you. You know that right?" I called after her.  
"Yeah, I don't care. I can talk to him without tearing his head off now." She answered. Lily gave me an amused look.  
"The scary part is that yesterday, she really would have tried that." She told me.  
"I heard that!" Auri shot back. We all burst into laughter.  
  
**Remus**  
  
"Here they come." Announced James. I had filled him and Peter in on Sirius' situation this morning. Next to me, Sirius' smile faltered.  
"Does she look angry at all?" I looked up to check and saw she was laughing with the other girls.  
"Nope, she's laughing. Looks pretty much like smooth sailing." He heaved a sigh of relief.   
I watched as the girls walked past and took their usual seats farther down the table. Aurora's eyes had strayed over to Sirius' bowed head. He was deliberately avoiding eye contact and she looked... was that disappointment? I nudged Sirius with my elbow and told him what I saw.  
"Are you serious?" I fought the obvious joke and nodded. His smile came back instantly. He started to get up and James and I had to force him back down.  
"Let her eat breakfast first at least!" James exclaimed.  
"Oh, right." Sirius said.   
As soon as the girls got up to go to class, Sirius insisted we go too. I had to fight bursting into laughter at his behavior, but I wanted to hear the conversation, so I agreed.  
  
**Christine**  
  
We had just gotten out of the Great Hall when I heard Sirius' low voice behind us.   
"Aurora, can I talk to you for a minute?" The three of us turned around to find all four boys waiting for her answer. I looked at her. Her face was kept neutral when she responded.  
"Yeah, sure, if you talk while we walk. I don't want to be late for class." He nodded his agreement. That must be my cue.   
"Come on, let's give them some space." I suggested to the boys. They joined me and Lily and we walked a little bit ahead of them. But not far enough that we couldn't hear their conversation.  
"I want to earn your trust back, Aurora." Sirius began.  
"Oh? How do you plan on doing that?" Aurora asked stiffly. Come on Auri, I know you want to forgive him, let him in!  
"Very carefully." I could practically hear his grin. "Will you let me make it up to you next weekend in Hogsmeade?" Again, I could hear him grin.  
"I don't know... " Now I could hear her grinning! But she was going to make him beg for it. Good!  
"Please? I hear Zonko's has got some great new jokes in this week. And I know for a fact that you've been craving a butterbeer for a full month. Come on, come with me?" She won't be able to pass it up.   
"Well, I suppose it could be fun. But promise me you'll never break another promise again first." Ugh! She's testing him! Say no Sirius, say no!  
"No." Good boy! "I told you, I want to earn your trust back before I make anymore promises." Oh, he's good, he's very good.  
"Then okay, I'll go with you." There was a collective sigh of relief from the five of us walking ahead of them. I looked over at Remus.  
"That was my line you know." He told me. I laughed.  
"Figures, that numbskull couldn't come up with something that good." I told him. He blushed faintly. I had to look away to hide my own blush. Okay, so I won't admit it to anyone else, but I like him. I like him a lot.   



	3. Sirius and Aurora POV

Disclaimer: I own nothing that you recognize, but Aurora and Christine are mine.  
A/N: Hi! I know that some people were waiting for a James/Lily POV, but we know so little about their characters that I felt it was best to just leave them alone. I hope you like this, please review!  
  
  
The Things We Do  
  
  
  
**Aurora**  
  
"You know Chris, it would be perfect if you asked Remus to go with you this weekend." I wheedled. Chris hated it when I teased her about Remus, but it was so much fun!  
"Shut up Auri! I've told you a million times to mind your own business when it comes to my love life, but you never do." Chris said hotly. I just grinned back at her.  
"That's right! And I never will. It's not that big of a deal, just go and ask him!" Chris just shot a glare at me and left our dormitory. I looked over at Lily and shrugged.  
"Well, there's always tonight, she can't avoid me forever."   
"No, but maybe you should avoid her for a while. She's not likely to be in a good mood." Lily advised and with that, she left the room. I followed her in silence. I wonder what Lily thought about Christine's crush. Usually she just kept her mouth shut when we bantered and rarely voiced her opinions. She was more comfortable being the peacemaker I guess.  
The Hogsmeade trip was in two days. Shortly after Sirius and I got over our little spat, I began constantly bothering Christine about her crush on Remus. I don't really care all that much. It's just that I know she likes him and I don't want her to feel left out. That sounded incredibly stupid, even to me. Chris can take care of herself. Oh well, if I stop now, she'll get suspicious that I'm planning something. So I'll keep bothering her about it. Maybe she actually will ask him.  
When Lily and I made our way down to the Great Hall, Chris was already sitting with the boys and talking to Sirius and James about quidditch. I like the sport, but I can't stand it when they talk about strategy and tactics. For someone who doesn't play, it can get a little boring.  
"Hey." Sirius said as I sat down. Wow, he should get a prize for his great conversational skills. Or maybe one for great hair. I know it sounds weird, but that boy has got great hair. I winked at Lily when James greeted her. Those two were so cute together.   
Another thing that happened after my fight with Sirius is that the three of us began hanging out with the boys a lot more often. I didn't even notice it at first; it just seemed natural. The Marauders, as they call themselves, became more destructive with their pranks too. The lugheads are doing it to impress us I suppose. Well, honestly, I do like their pranks. Chris and I can get just as bad as the boys sometimes. 'Course, Lily hates it; she always has. She's right though, if they get caught, they won't be able to go to Hogsmeade at all. Boys are stupid.   
  
**Sirius**  
  
He's staring at her again. Really, I thought this was going to stop after he asked her out. That James is turning into a softy. Peter told me that he missed an opportunity to curse Snape the other day. When Peter asked him about it, he said that Lily would disapprove! That girl is going to turn him into a steaming pile of mush. If Aurora disapproved of me cursing Snape, it wouldn't stop me. Well, okay, maybe. Oh, who am I kidding, I'm mush too. But that doesn't mean I have to admit it. Thank goodness she hates the greaseball as much as I do. I wonder who Remus likes. I haven't had anything good to tease him about in ages. I'll write him a note when McGonagall isn't looking.  
"Moony, quick question, who do you like?" I wrote.  
"Why do you want to know?" He wrote back.  
"Just bored and curious. You know, it's only fair that you tell. You know who James and I like."  
"So? Maybe I don't like anyone."  
"Liar. Come on, tell me or I may be forced to put a tickling charm on you in the middle of class."  
"It might be worth it not to tell you. I know you're just gonna bother me about it."  
"I promise I won't."  
"Didn't you tell Auri you weren't going to be making any more promises?"  
"Just to her. Now quit dodging the question and tell me."  
"Fine. But you can't breathe a word to anyone."  
"I won't! On my word as a Marauder. Except maybe James. But he's safe. Tell me already!"  
"Christine." I'm sure my jaw must have dropped. I looked over at Remus in disbelief. He was avidly watching McGonagall write on the blackboard.   
"You're right Remus, I am going to bother you about this. You like the Irish Wench?"  
"Thanks Padfoot, you really know how to support a guy." I winced at the sarcasm practically seeping through the paper.   
"Moony, I didn't mean it like that. Chris is great. Were you going to ask her out?"  
"NO!"   
"Jeez, why not? You like her, so ask her out. Don't make me go through for you what I did for James."  
"Do I really have to say it? What happens if she finds out why I'm gone every full moon?" Remus wrote. I didn't want to say it, but I was pretty sure the girls already knew about him. Between Aurora and Lily, they probably had it figured out sooner than James and I did. I left the note as it was. I'd talk to him later.  
  
  
  
**Aurora**  
  
Hmm, Sirius and Remus are passing notes. I wonder what they're talking about. Ugh, this class is sooo boring! I think McGonagall tries to make each lesson even more boring than the last. Well, I'll write to Chris. I would write to Lily, but she frowns on that sort of thing. Unbelievable. I pull out a piece of parchment and she leans over to see what I'm writing. She must be bored too. Well, I don't care if she sees.  
"Will you at least try flirting with him?" I wrote and passed the parchment to Chris.   
"No." She wrote back.  
"Really, it's not hard, compliment him on his good manners and study habits." I wrote back. I knew that'd make her mad, so next to it, I drew a happy face to show that I was kidding. Lily nearly burst out laughing when she saw what Chris had done to the happy face. She turned the eyes into X's, put a head and body on it and drew a rope around its neck. Then, she drew an arrow pointing to it with the caption; "You, if you keep talking about this." Underneath the normal conversation, she wrote; "Lovely weather we're having isn't it?"  
"Yes, it should be wonderful on Saturday. Too bad you're too chicken to ask Remus to go with you, you could enjoy it together." I wrote back. Now Lily did start laughing, much to her embarrassment. Poor girl, McGonagall was furious.  
"Is there something funny that you would like to share with the class Miss Evans?" She asked Lily sharply. She smiled weakly.  
"No, not at all, I just let my mind wander for a second. I'm terribly sorry Professor, it won't happen again." I knew she was praying with all her might not to get points taken away.   
"No, I should think not." And she turned back to the board. There's something to be said for being one of the best students in the class. Whenever Lily actually does something wrong, it's easily ignored. I'm glad she got off. What would the world have come to if Lily Evans lost house points?  
  
**Sirius**  
  
"Talk to her."  
"No."  
"Ask her if she wants help with her homework."  
"No."  
"Tell her you think she flies well."  
"No."   
"Just bloody talk to her!"  
"Sod off Sirius!" I shook my head as Remus stomped off to the dorm room. Oh sure, he laughed when I teased James, but he can't take it himself.   
"What on earth are you bothering him about Padfoot?" James asked me. We were in the common room, pretending to do our homework while we stared at the girls. Even me. We're pathetic piles of mush.  
"A girl." I responded. I'd just tell him right out, but Peter was there. I told Remus I'd only tell James and I wasn't about to break another promise anytime soon. James gave me a highly amused look.  
"Moony likes someone?"  
"Yep."   
"Are you going to tell me who it is?"  
"I can only give clues right now."  
"Okay, so who is it?" He was getting impatient. I leaned closer so that no one else could hear.  
"When you figure it out, don't blurt it out. You know her, she's in our year, and she's not at all like Moony." James frowned at me.  
"That's not very helpful."  
"Well, okay, one more. She can fly better than every guy on the Slytherin team." At that, James' eyes nearly bugged out of his head. Then they flicked over to where Chris was sitting.  
"Are you serious?" I smiled widely at him, but before I could open my mouth, he stopped me. "That's not what I meant and you know it. Are you certain?"  
"Yeah, he told me in Transfiguration today."  
"Why won't he talk to her?"  
"Oh, he'll talk to her, but he won't ask her the right question."  
"Why?"  
"Because he's an idiot and he's afraid she'll find out."  
"He doesn't think she already knows?" So James had come to the same conclusion as me.   
"I didn't want to say anything. He'll get paranoid. But I'm pretty sure all three of the girls know."  
"You're pretty sure we know what?" A female voice said from behind us. I must have jumped a foot. I turned around in my chair to find Aurora standing there with a curious expression on her face. I did some very quick thinking and put on my most charming smile.  
"How beautiful you are." She got a peeved look on her face.  
"By the stars, Sirius, you are such a liar! What were you really talking about?" I hated that she could do that. I can never lie to her. Instead of answering her question, I turned to James with an incredulous expression.  
"Can you believe that? You tell a girl she's gorgeous and she calls you a liar."  
"First, you said beautiful, not gorgeous. Second, that's not what you were lying about. What do we supposedly know already?" Another thing I hate, she never lets me get away with anything. Well, time to see if she really knows or not.  
"Remus." She gave me a confused look.  
"Yeah, we know Remus. So?" I sighed exasperatedly.   
"You know about Remus." Now she understood.  
"Oh! Yeah, we know. So? Is that a problem or something? We've known since first year and we haven't said anything." I smiled at her and shook my head.  
"No, It's not a problem. It's a very good thing if I can get my plan to work."  
"Sirius, what are you planning?" She asked in a threatening voice.  
"Nothing yet. And you'll have nothing to do with it this time, so you don't need to know 'til it happens." She gave me a wary look, but just shook her head and went upstairs.  
  
**Aurora**  
  
"He's planning something again Lily." I told her the next morning. Lily looked at me in the mirror we were standing in front of.  
"Don't let it bother you, it might be something for you."  
"I doubt it. He asked me if we knew about Remus last night. What would that have to do with me?" Lily shrugged.  
"It's not worth it to worry about it. Think about... what you're going to wear tomorrow." I looked at her strangely.  
"It's nearly December. I'm going to wear jeans and a sweatshirt. How is that going to occupy my mind? This is Sirius we're talking about. It's not like I have to dress up for some candlelight dinner. We're probably going to spend most of the day in Zonko's." Lily blanched at that thought. Obviously, she hadn't thought of that before.  
"They're going to drag us off to Zonko's?" She asked.  
"Don't worry, I'll go with you to the bookshop for a while." I smiled at her and she cheered up a bit. "We're not going to be chained to the boys or anything, we can go off by ourselves for a bit."  
"Well you had better, because I don't intend to spend the whole day by myself." Shot Chris from the doorway.  
"You wouldn't have to if you asked Remus to spend the day with you." I replied sweetly. She just rolled her eyes at me.  
"Would you two hurry up, I'm hungry." I shrugged and walked past her.  
"Nice to meet you Hungry, I'm Aurora." She groaned at my corny joke.  
"Auri, most people give up that joke in first year." I smiled widely at her.  
"I don't know why, it's still so effective in annoying you."   
"That's another thing I wish you'd given up in first year." Chris said.  
"No you don't. If I stopped being annoying, life would be boring. And you really should give up that wish. I'm never going to stop annoying you." Chris just rolled her eyes at me.   
"So... jeans and a sweatshirt? Shouldn't you wear something a bit nicer?" Chris asked tentatively.   
"You too? What do you people have against being warm? I'm not going to freeze for some boy." I said, exasperated. Lily and Christine just laughed at me.  
  
**Sirius**  
  
I was wearing Remus down; I think. Or he was getting mad at me. Probably the latter. Either way, he was about to make some sort of outburst in front of Christine. We were sitting in the Great Hall and Remus had his back to the door, so he couldn't see the girls walking over. They were getting closer, come on Moony, yell at me about it.  
"Sirius, would you just shut up! So what if I like her, nothing's ever going to happen, so just lay off! I never should have told you." Damn, he didn't say her name. I looked up to see Chris' expression. I wish Remus had turned around right then. Chris looked like she was hurt, or maybe disappointed and the other two were looking at her in sympathy. I raised a questioning eyebrow at Aurora. She just shook her head at me. I'd get her to tell me eventually.  
  
**Aurora**  
  
Poor Christine. She had this dazed expression on her face all day. Finally, at dinner, she told us that she didn't want to go to Hogsmeade. She was going to stay at the castle and catch up on her Potions essay. She needs to come up with better excuses though, because I know for a fact that she's already finished her Potions essay. Lily and I tried to convince her to come, but she just kept refusing. We didn't dare press the issue.   
Later, in the common room, Sirius came over to talk to me.   
"So what was up with Christine earlier?" he asked. I shrugged at him.  
"Nothing, she's just not in a good mood." Okay, so I need to come up with better excuses too.  
"Yeah, right. Come on, tell me Auri." He gave me puppy dog eyes. Ugh, I'm such a sucker for that! I looked away, but I knew he was still doing it.  
"Sirius, stop, that's not fair!"  
"I'll stop if you tell me."  
"I can't, it's a secret!"  
"You know you want to tell me." I risked a glance at him and held his gaze.  
"Fine, but stop." Instantly, he was back to normal. Or, as normal as Sirius can get anyway. "She likes Remus a lot, but this morning she heard him say that he liked someone else." Now Sirius was smiling really widely.   
"No he didn't. He didn't name anyone." Sirius said, still grinning like mad.   
"Oh Heavens, does that mean..." I didn't even finish the sentence and Sirius was nodding emphatically. "Well, why does he think that nothing will ever happen?"   
"Because, he's paranoid about the whole wolf thing. He doesn't want her to find out."  
"But she already knows!" I exclaimed. It was so loud, half the common room turned and looked at us. Once they turned back, Sirius answered me.  
"I know! But he doesn't know that."   
"Then go tell him! Honestly Sirius, I'm surprised that you haven't yet." I just shook my head at him and left.   
  
**Sirius**  
  
"Go tell him," she said. So I did, I told him. And now, he won't leave the dorm, let alone go to Hogsmeade. Well, I'm exaggerating. James and I did manage to drag him down to breakfast, but when he caught a glimpse of Christine sitting with Lily and Aurora, he went back upstairs. Jeez, the things we do for friends.  
"Where's Remus?" Aurora asked. I fought the urge to glare at her. It's not really her fault anyway.  
"He's in the Tower." She gave me a questioning look, but didn't say anything else. Just then, Chris got up. "Where are you going?" I asked her.  
"Back to the common room."   
"Aren't you going to Hogsmeade with us?" James asked.  
"No, I have a lot of work to do, so I'll pass." Whoa, that was not like Christine. She must have been more upset than I thought. But wait, this day might not be so bad after all. They were both going to be in Gryffindor Tower all day, with only first and second years as company. They were bound to talk. After Chris left, I told the others what I thought was going to happen.  
"Well, let's hope you're right Sirius. But for now, let's just enjoy the day," were the wise words of Lily. I couldn't argue with that. Chris and Remus could take care of themselves for a while.  
  
  
A/N: For those of you who were expecting Chris and Remus to get together, sorry. I just didn't think it would happen for them for at least another year. Besides, Not everyone should pair up at the same time; it's just not natural. : ) Well, please review!  
  
  
  
  
  
  



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